Dec. 28, 2012--ATLANTIC BEACH -- A Carteret County hotel that has been closed since September 2011 is officially under new ownership.

No upset bids were filed, paving the way for a Georgia-based company to take over the Sheraton Atlantic Beach property.

Newport Group Inc., out of Augusta, Ga., submitted a bid of $4.56 million for the property during a foreclosure sale held earlier this month at the Carteret County Courthouse. A required 10-day period for upset bids ended at 5 p.m. Thursday without any being filed with the Carteret County Clerk of Courts office.

Barry Mann of the firm Manning Fulton in Raleigh, the attorney who handled the foreclosure sale, said he confirmed Friday morning that no upset bids were made and signed the required paperwork transferring ownership to Newport Group.

"As soon as I signed the deed they became the new owner," Mann said in a phone interview.

Mann served as substitute trustee in the process and signed a substitute trustee's deed Friday, which was being taken to Beaufort to be recorded with the Carteret County Register of Deeds.

"The previous owner had the last deed and under the foreclosure the substitute trustee has the authority to deed the property to the highest bidder," Mann said.

Newport Group Inc. is a leading real estate development and management firm that specializes in hotel investments and operations. It owns and operates properties across the Southeastern United States with planned expansion across the country and abroad, according to the company website.

Marty Matfess, executive vice president of Newport Group, submitted the bid during the foreclosure sale, and said at the time that the company plans to reopen the property as a hotel.

The Sheraton, a nine-story beachfront hotel with banquet facilities, closed for renovations September 2011 after Hurricane Irene and has never reopened.

Contact Daily News reporter Jannette Pippin at 910-382-2557 or [email protected].

___

(c)2012 The Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.)

Visit The Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.) at www.jdnews.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services NASDAQ:NEWP,